Syncing your iPad with iTunes

You can use an iPad if you don’t have a computer;but if you do have one, there’s a good chance it’s full of music,photos,and other things you’d like to put on your iPad.To do that,you have to sync (syncing also backs up the data on your iPad to your computer for safe keeping).

iTunes will launch and the screen that lets you manage all the content on your iPad will appear. Each tab on this screen lets you control different kinds of content on your iPad. When you’ve made all your changes and want to save them and sync again,click the Apply button.You can do this after changing the settings on each tab or after you’ve completed all of them.

The Summary Tab

The Summary tab is the overview screen where you perform basic activities:

• Check for Update—Click this to check for,and install,an updated version of the iOS,the software that makes the iPad work.

• Restore—If your iPad is having major problems,sometimes you need to erase it and start from scratch That’s what Restore does.

• Backup—This option lets you decide whether the data on your iPad is saved for safekeeping.

• Capacity bar—This color-coded bar at the bottom of iTunes shows how much of your iPad’s storage space you’re currently using and how much is still available.The default information shows you how much space each type of data—music,apps,books,and so on—takes up.If you click a category at the bottom (for example,Audio),you’ll see other information, such as how many songs or apps are on your iPad.

The Info Tab

The Info tab is where you sync calendars,addresses,phone numbers,and email accounts.Here are the main options found on this tab:

• Sync Address Book Contacts—If you have your friends’and family’s names,addresses,phone numbers,and emails stored on your computer, you can sync them to your iPad.If you have this information stored in different programs,you need to merge it all into one because the iPad can only sync with one address book program.Check this box to sync your iPad and address book.On a Mac,your iPad will sync with the built-in Address Book program.On a PC,you can choose to sync with Outlook, Outlook Express,Windows Address book,or Windows Contacts.

• Sync Calendars—You can also sync your calendar or a family calendar to the iPad,which is good for keeping track of your days off from school,big homework assignments,and people’s birthdays (learn more in Chapter 8, “Get Organized with Calendar and Reminders “).If you want to sync calendars,check this box,click Selected Calendars,and choose the calendars you want.You can also just sync all of calendars on your computer by checking the All Calendars box.

• Sync Mail Accounts—If you have an email address set up on your computer,you can add it to your iPad by checking this box and then clicking the account you want to add.If you don’t have an email address,that’s okay.

• Sync Bookmarks—If you’ve got your favorite websites saved as book- marks in the web browser on your computer,you can sync all of those bookmarks to your iPad,too.Just check the box next to Sync Bookmarks. If you use a Mac,you’re done.On a PC,click the menu to choose what browser’s bookmarks you want to sync.Select the browser you use most often.

The Apps Tab

Here’s where things start to get really fun:adding apps to your iPad.When you use iTunes to download apps and games,they show up in this area. Here’s how you install them on your iPad:

• Sync Apps—Check this box to turn on the ability to sync apps.When you do this,the apps in the column below it light up.

• Select apps—To choose apps to sync to your iPad,check the box next to each app.

• Arrange apps—On the right,you’ll see a picture of your iPad’s home screen.Next to that picture are other boxes with apps on them.These are other screens.Click the #2 screen to see the apps that will be installed there.If you want to put those apps somewhere else,you can drag and drop them onto another screen or to another place on the same screen. 

• New screens—To create a third screen for your apps,click an app with your mouse and drag it over to the gray box labeled “3”next to the picture of your iPad screen.Let it go there and you’ll have three screens of apps.Repeat to create more screens.

• Automatically sync new apps—If you get apps using iTunes on your computer instead of using the App Store on your iPad,use this option. Check it if you want new apps that you download on your computer to be added to your iPad every time it syncs.

The Tones Tab

Tones are the sounds made by the iPad to let you know you’ve got a FaceTime call, new email,text message,or reminder.The iPad comes with dozens of sounds,but you can also add your own to make your iPad more personal.

To sync tones to your iPad, click the Sync Tones button.You can sync all the tones on your computer by clicking All Tones.Alternatively,you can choose just some of them by clicking Selected Tones.

The Music Tab

Here’s another fun tab.You can add music to your iPad so that you have your favorite songs with you wherever you go.

• Sync Music—Click this box so a check mark appears in it (if it’s already there,no need to click) to turn on the ability to add music to your iPad.

• Chances are your iPad won’t have enough space to hold all your music, apps,games,books,and everything else,so your best bet is to click Selected Playlists,Artists,Albums,and Genres button so that a black dot appears in it and then choose what music you want to have on your iPad.

• If you have music videos you want to watch on your iPad,click that box so a check mark appears in it.You can ignore the other two for now.

• If you decide to sync only selected songs,you have to choose which songs you want.There are four ways to do that: by playlist,artist,genre, and album.If you have created any playlists in iTunes and want to sync them,check the box next to the name of each playlist you want to add.

• If you want to add all the songs and albums by your favorite bands to your iPad with just one click,check the box next to their names.

• To sync all albums and songs in a certain genre,click the box next to the genre you want.

• To sync just one album at a time and have more control over what ends up on your iPad,click the individual album names.

The Movies Tab

If you rent or buy movies from iTunes,or download video files from the Web, you can watch them on your iPad.This is especially fun if you’re taking a long trip and want some entertainment.

• Sync Movies—Check this box to turn on the ability to sync movies to your iPad.

• You have two choices for syncing movies: automatically and one at a time.To choose automatically,check that box and then select the num- ber of movies you want to sync in the drop-down menu.

• If you want to choose which movies to sync,check the box next to each movie you want to sync.Taking a movie off your iPad,but leaving it on your computer,works the same way:Uncheck the box next to that movie.

The TV Shows Tab

Just like with movies,you can also watch your favorite TV shows on your iPad. Here,however,you’ve got a bit more flexibility because you can choose the specific episodes you want to sync.

• Sync TV Shows—Begin by checking the Sync TV Shows box.Just like with movies,you can either automatically sync shows or choose which ones you sync on a show-by-show basis.

If you choose to automatically sync,you then decide what you want to sync.In the first drop-down box,your choices are all unwatched episodes, the newest shows,the newest shows you haven’t watched,and the oldest shows.Pick the one you want from the drop-down.

• Use the second drop-down box to choose whether you want this choice to apply to all shows or just the ones you selected.I recommend using just the ones you select,because you may want to keep shows you’ve seen on your computer,but don’t want to add them to your iPad.

• If you want to choose specific shows to sync,don’t check the box next to Automatically Include.Instead,check the boxes next to the show you want to add to your iPad and then click the box next to each episode you want to sync.

The Podcasts Tab

Podcasts are like radio shows that you can download and listen to any time. Most of them are free,and there are thousands to choose from on all kinds of topics at the iTunes Store.In fact,you can even subscribe to your favorites so that when a new episode comes out,it’s automatically downloaded to your computer.

You can do this for as many shows and episodes as will fit on your iPad.

• Sync Podcasts—To sync podcasts to your iPad,you first have to click Sync Podcasts check box so that a checkmark appears in it.

• Choosing what podcast to sync is a lot like choosing what TV shows to sync: First,you have to decide if you want to sync podcasts automatically or one at a time.If you choose automatically,then choose how many podcasts and whether you want to only sync ones you haven’t heard or all of them.

• If you want to sync only some podcasts,don’t check the box next to Automatically Include.Instead,check the box next to the podcast you want to sync.Then check the box next to each episode of that podcast that you want to sync.

The Books Tab

You can get e-books and audiobooks from iTunes and other sources.The iPad is a great place to read or listen to books because it can hold hundreds of them and the books can have pictures,sound,and animations.

• Sync Books—To sync books to your iPad,first click the check box next to Sync Books so a checkmark appears there.If you enable this option,use the buttons below to choose whether to sync all the books on your com- puter or just some of them.

• If you choose selected books,click the box next to the books you want.

• Adding audiobooks to your iPad works the same way.Scroll down the page to see and configure the Audiobooks options.

The Photos Tab

With its big screen,the iPad is awesome for looking at pictures—and having the built-in digital cameras makes it even better.If you store photos on your computer,you may want to sync your favorites to your iPad so you can have them with you wherever you go.

• Sync Photos From—Begin by clicking on the Sync Photos check box and then choosing where to sync photos from.If your computer is a Mac, choose iPhoto.If you use Windows,choose the program you use (there can be a lot of options,depending on what you have installed on your computer,but Windows Live Photo Gallery is the most common).

• Just like with other things,you first have to decide whether you want to sync all your photos or just some.If you don’t already,pretty soon you’re probably going to have a lot of photos stored on your computer.That can take up a lot of space—even more than you have available on your iPad. Because of that,it’s usually best to sync only your favorite photos.

• If you choose to sync only selected photos,you then have to choose what albums,events,or people (this option only works if you use iPhoto) to sync.Click the boxes in those sections.

Saving Your Changes 

Don’t forget that once you’ve changed all these settings,they’re not permanent until you click Apply in the bottom-right corner of iTunes.When you do that,the settings will be saved and the music,movies,and apps you’ve chosen will be added to your iPad.Now,whenever you sync your iPad,these settings will be used (until you change them).

After you’ve synced your iPad,you should eject it before you can unplug it from your computer.To do that,click the Eject button next to the iPad icon in iTunes.